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Political Structure of the Free Confederacy
The Eternal Compact: Laws of the Free Confederacy ' ' The Free Confederacy (dismissively referred to as the mongrel nation), began officially when independently minded groups of dwarves, elves, druids, and necromancers attempted to found their own nations upon a newly discovered continent. For the dwarves and elves, these were the first explorers, trailblazers who either attempted to cross the sea or descend from the sky. They were sometimes rebels, exiles or criminals seeking to rewrite their past in a foreign land. For the druids and the necromancers of the whispering way, just as it was for the pelorites after them, the exploration was due to a desire to both flee religious persecution and set up their own religious utopias. While at first most of them thought the land was uninhabited, they soon found the people of the land, the orcs, didn’t necessarily reside in cities but were very possessive of this land. ' ' The initial independant wars of conquest allied the early colonies with their former empires. New nations were formed, by orcs exiled who either lived on the fringes or Orc tribes sought alliances against their traditional tribal enemies. An awkward balance of power was developed, and new nations were formed. Asbjorn Strongson claimed Stronguard, after having survived a purge of his family during a civil war in Thurland, founded Stronguard. The non-assimilated orcs, considered to savage by either their own or others, retreated to Orcholm. Rugged individualists of all sorts founded Mountholm, only initially working together to trade or defend themselves from Orcholm raiders. Aeserit started as a trade colony, and as a foothold, but soon sought independence from the magisterium of the Aes, just like their neighbors in the New Stori Islands. But then the elven empire of Asari, asserted imperial laws on the independent minded elves of New Asari, they sought to create a more permanent alliance with the small nations of the continent, before their former leaders in the floating elven kingdom attempted to expand to take over the rest of the lands. Gesankholm, the dominion founded on compromise suggested applying their own local compromise to form a permanent alliance between all of these nations. The Compact was formed around a few simple laws and ideas: That the dominions (the compacts name for the subnational groups) would govern themselves according to their own laws and customs, but that all domains would work collectively in a confederacy to protect the lives, freedom and property of the dominions and its citizens. The inherent contradictions turned into conflict almost immediately. ' ' Many of the dominions had customs of less than ethical or ethical treatment for all of its citizens. Augsdale, which diligently supported the common defence was ruled by a powerful necromancer, and his ilk and kin. A number of the dominions allowed casual mistreatment of the orc clans, sometimes for good reason. Others allowed the purchasing of indentured servants or even slave chattel from far away lands. Other dominions refused to allow this or simply didn’t care. Others continued to lobby for confederacy wide liberty for all sentient beings. ' ' The freeing of an owned human man by a noble in Paehgand, was the spark that led to the near dissolution of the Confederacy, first plunging Newdwarfolm and Paehgand into an unresolvable conflict. The Legislative Lords sided on the part of the Noble in Paehgand by a slim majority, and included sentiments that it is wrong to own any people or mistreat any orcs, as they were legal members of the confederacy. Augsdale engaged not only in chattel slavery, organized by its upper class, but also everlasting slavery, as its ruler’s militia rested on animated or controlled undead. The Iron Island would engage in the slave trade, usually with foreign powers, while Newdwarfholm and New Asari had a form of long term indentured servitude that worked as bankruptcy for themselves but was a life sentence to younger lived races. Paegand, Gesankholm and the newest dominions all supported the abolition of indentured servitude for different reasons, and initially included mountholm, stronguard and theol. After the initial vote, the elected Lord Protector, Ser Milaron Blanch, declared the illegality of all forms of slavery, and the legal requirement to treat all orcs as citizens. That last clause, in the eyes of northern dominions was unacceptable, considering orc raiding parties and the inability of compact forces to respond quickly enough. The excluded subnations rebelled calling the initial compact a fraud, while mountholm, stronguard, and theol remained neutral. What initially began as a standoff quickly grew into a full fledged war that lasted 10 years and remained a stalemate. Most of the fighting remained at the borders and the seas, and there were many times the Slavers(As they were referred to by the abolitionists)nearly laid seige to Compact Island. ' ' It wasn’t until Milaron Blanch’s successor Aryn Gustlar struck a deal with the neutral dominions, to allow them to defend themselves, but grant the willing orcs to their own territory in the poison and infertile Black Spine mountains, that they joined the fray, along with the freed and sometimes undead servitors of the now destroyed Lord of Augsdale, forced the remaining dominions to surrender. Many were willing to do so, and deposed their former leadership by exile or execution. Lord Aryn amended the compact, and added the sixth pillar, and ratified the 5th to unanimous agreement. ' ' Supreme Pillars of the Compact 1)The compact and the dominions exist to protect people’s lives and self-determination 2)The Compact can dictate no rules about the varied religions and opinions of its peoples 3)Law Applies to All, irrelevant of wealth or title 4)Dominions Decide for themselves All Else 5)No Slavery or Person-Ownership - Added after the Slaver War 6)Right to petition Compact Court - Added after the Great War ' ' Compact Areas of Focus/Laws # International Trade (Pillar 1) # Prohibition of illegal trade (powerful and dangerous items)(Pillar 1) # Naval Defence (Pillar 1) # Laws pertaining to death, theft, illegal imprisonment (Pillar 1, Pillar 3, Pillar 5) # Abuses of local law enforcement (Pillar 3) # Road Taxes (often charged through tolls), Trade Tarriffs (at ports), Defence taxes (in cities or communities - often ignored by the northern dominions) # A percentage of landowning taxes (50% to dominion and 50% to compact - tax is 10% assumed land productivity) # Currency production, value, counterfeit prevention # Issues that affect the whole confederation or multiple dominions # Disagreements between dominions Compact Sworn Knight - Called Sworn -Any class- -Badge- 13 point sun with blue ribbon, and eagle spread ' ' Compact Navy -Any Class -Badge - 13 Pointed Iron sun ' ' Compact Army -Relatively small (perhaps 5000 soldiers) -Badge -13 pointed sun with a sword ' ' Lord’s Governor Decided by the dominion, and rules their province. ' ' Lords Legislative Decided by the dominion, based on population. Negotiate on behalf of the best interests of their dominion. They also make laws that apply to the area as a whole and manage conflicts between their regions. But for the most part they take part in courtly politics. They elect the Lord Protector from their number.